Inventory of the Plummer Stewart papers, 1892-1948

Abstract

Plummer Stewart graduated from Trinity College in 1894. He died in 1951.

The collection includes four oratorical medals he received while a student at Trinity College as well as two ledgers and a small tablet. The tablet contains a list of his expenses while at Trinity College. The ledgers both include his handwritten memoirs. The collection ranges in date from 1892-1948.

Descriptive Summary

Repository: University Archives, Duke University
Creator: Stewart, Plummer.
Title: Plummer Stewart papers, 1892-1948
Language of Material: English
Extent: 1.3 Linear Feet, 7 Items
Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

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Collection Overview

The collection includes two ledgers and a small tablet. The tablet contains an itemized list of the expenses he incurred while a student at Trinity College. The ledgers contain handwritten memoirs of Stewart's life. Several pages in one ledger were removed prior to its donation to the Archives. Handwritten on the inside of both covers of the ledger is "Stewart, McRae and Bobbitt, 400-404 Law Building, Charlotte, NC." The removed pages may have contained information pertinent to the law firm and thus their removal. On one of the pages in his ledger, Stewart wrote in 1931, "I sent the little book to Prof. R. L. Flowers to be placed in Archives of Duke University."

Also donated with these items were four oratorical prize yellow gold medals:

Columbian Literary Society, Trinity College - Praemium Disputationi, June 1893

Columbian Literary Society, Trinity College - Praemium Oratori, June 1894

Senior Class, 1894

North Carolina Teachers Assembly, 1894

These items were placed in relic boxes and stored with other relics in the custody of the Archives.

The collection ranges in date from 1892-1948.

Administrative Information

A majority of collections are stored off site and must be requested at least 24 business hours in advance for retrieval. Contact Rubenstein Library staff before visiting. Read More »

Access Restrictions

Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.

Collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Contents of the Collection

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Ledger, circa 1931-1946

The ledger includes handwritten "Incidents in the Life of Plummer Stewart." Topics include "The Flood" of 1916 [Catawba River], his itemized expenses while attending Trinity College (copied from a tablet notebook, also in this collection), the Inter-Collegiate Debate of 1894 (for which he won a medal), his roommates at college, the custom of sitting with a corpse, his early school days, hunting, ghosts, courtship, and his law partnership and practice.

Box 1

Tablet, 1892-1894

This small tablet contains Stewart's itemized expenses while a student at Trinity College.

Box 1

Ledger, circa 1945-1948

The original purpose of this ledger is unknown, but may have been intended for use in Stewart's law practice. In 1945, Stewart wrote his memoirs in the ledger. He wrote about his birth, his childhood, going to school, going to college, practicing law, teaching and getting married. He also wrote about his wife's death and his love for her. Clipped inside the ledger is the 1896 commencement program for Marshville Academy, of which Stewart was principal.

Box 1

Historical Note

Plummer Stewart was born on July 13, 1870 in Union County, North Carolina. His parents were Robert and Sallie Stewart, and his father was a confederate veteran. Stewart graduated from Trinity College in 1894. He became a member of the Charlotte bar in 1901 and was at one time a law partner of Judge John A. Parker, Judge William H. Bobbitt, James O. Moore, and Robert P. Stewart. In 1913, he was a member of the North Carolina General Assembly from Mecklenburg County. Before moving to Charlotte, Stewart was superintendent of public instruction in Union County and served as principals of two schools. He died in 1951.